Partner with usgain upliftdeliver affordable homescreate thriving communitiesbe part of the solution

We all benefit from a society where everyone can access safe, secure, affordable and appropriate housing.

Developers have been given an opportunity to be part of the housing affordability solution by partnering with community housing providers to deliver affordable and social housing.

This webpage aims to assist developers to understand the community housing industry, and how to reap the benefits of partnering with our member organisations.

Affordable Housing Agreements

The Victorian Government has amended the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to incorporate a new objective and definition of affordable housing. This change is expected to result in an increase in the number of Local Councils who will seek to include an affordable housing contribution as part of planning approval processes for developers.

Community Housing Organisations are highly qualified owners and managers of affordable housing with the skills and capacity to partner with developers to ensure the success of these Affordable Housing Agreements.

City of Melbourne

A amendment for the central city (C270) requires developers to include a public benefit when seeking to increase the scale of their development. Community housing is one of the public benefits available for developers to select.

Community Housing

Benefits of partnering with the growth engine for affordable housing

Victoria has a highly-regulated not-for-profit community housing industry that partners with all levels of government, financiers, land owners, developers and builders to deliver affordable housing.

Several organisations are developers in their own right, delivering large-scale residential projects. Others are experienced in working with developers on projects that include affordable and social housing.

The Community Housing Industry in Victoria includes nine Housing Associations and 30 Housing Providers that collectively own and manage over 19,000 properties with a combined asset value of over $2.3 billion.

Developers who partner with community housing organisations benefit from our experience in:

Leveraging and attracting new sources of capital, including maximising our tax-free status

Experienced partners

As part of one of the first large scale inclusionary zoning projects in Victoria, 150 new affordable homes are going to be available for rent in Melbourne’s north east by 2020.

National not-for-profit housing provider Community Housing Ltd (CHL) has formed a landmark partnership with private developers Alpha Partners to deliver affordable housing in The Village Alphington.

The proposed neighbourhood centre, including retail and a community hub, is to be developed on the former Amcor paper mill site, about 6.5 km from Melbourne’s CBD.

The Development Plan for 2,500 new dwellings with a mix of apartments, townhouses and single family homes, has been approved. The developers committed to include affordable dwellings for moderate income households as a result of the City of Yarra’s ‘inclusionary zoning’ planning application requirements under Section 173.

As part of the partnership, CHL will lease one and two bedroom apartments from the developers at a fixed rent for 10 years that will be subleased to eligible tenants at below 75 per cent market rent. CHL will retain the titles to 10 apartments as part of the agreement.

The primary target tenant group will be essential service workers on moderate incomes who provide key services in the community such as nurses, hospitality workers, teachers and childcare specialists.

FAQs

What is affordable housing?

The State Government has defined affordable Housing for the purposes of the Planning and Environment Act as ‘housing, including social housing, that is appropriate for the housing needs of very low, low and moderate income households’.

Is affordable housing different to social housing?

Public housing and community housing are both forms of affordable rental housing – together they are often referred to as ‘social housing’.

How do I decide which Community Housing Organisation I should partner with?

The decision as to which organisation to partner with is up to the individual developers.

Developers are encouraged to contact a number of Community Housing Organisations to determine organisation interest in your product offering and partnership proposal. For large developments a developer may want to undertake a more formal process to select a preferred community housing partner.

Some Community Housing Organisations have specialised skills and focus that could particularly aligns with your objectives or location. You can find contact details for Community Housing organisations on this page.

Can I sell properties to a Community Housing Organisation to meet my planning requirements?

Affordable housing that is proposed to be delivered under the City of Melbourne’s C270 agreements must be gifted to a Registered Housing Association (Community Housing organisation)

In relation to voluntary negotiations, there is no standardised model that establishes whether a dwelling is to be gifted or sold to a Community Housing Organisation.

Planning negotiations that require delivery of affordable housing could entail the gifting of completed dwellings or land to a Community Housing Organisation, or the sale of dwellings or land at an acceptable discount rate.

The delivery model will depend on the negotiations between the land owner and the Council, which should be informed by the advice of a Community Housing Organisation.

The capacity of a Community Housing Organisation to purchase a dwelling will vary.

Developers are encouraged to read the Government Guidance on voluntary planning negotiations available here.

How much can a Community Housing Organisation pay for a property?

Community Housing Organisations have limited financial capacity due to the low-income nature of their tenants.

The capacity of a Housing Organisation to purchase a dwelling and the price they can pay will depend on a range of factors that need to be discussed with individual organisations.

How does a Community Housing Organisation decide who will rent the property?

Community Housing Organisations are highly experienced in matching a dwelling to a household that requires affordable housing in any given area.

Community Housing Organisations take factors such as location, dwelling size and type, access to transport and services, accessibility, market prices and household income capacity into account when determining who will rent the property.

The sector is currently working with the State Government on the establishment of a single housing register to streamline the application process for potential tenants of both public and community housing.

How can I transfer properties in the CBD to a housing organisation under a C270?

Developers can contact Community Housing Organisations to confirm their interest in the transfer of the nominated dwellings

The developer should notify the Council of the Community Housing Organisation they have selected to receive the public benefit and arrange for the transfer of title for the agreed nominated dwellings once they are completed.

Click here to calculate the value of Public Benefit from gifting affordable housing.

Can I make a cash or land contribution in lieu of an Affordable Housing contribution?

Within the context of voluntary planning negotiations the Community Housing Sector’s first preference is for land or built-form outcomes to be gifted as a result of planning negotiations. This may result in a smaller percentage of dwellings that would be achieved if dwellings were discounted.

Land contributions may be an acceptable affordable housing contribution, particularly in larger rezonings. Any council conditions relating to the development of this land must be agreed by the proposed Community Housing Organisation recipient.

There may be some circumstances where a cash contribution may be acceptable. Community Housing Organisations have the required skills and focus to ensure this contribution is appropriately utilised in an acceptable affordable housing outcome.

Who will own the Community Housing dwellings once they are constructed?

Dwellings gifted under Melbourne CBD Floor Area Uplift arrangement (C270) will be owned by the Registered Housing Association.

In the case of voluntary planning negotiations, the dwellings are expected to be owned by a Registered Housing Association, however there may be instances where a third party owns the dwellings and the Housing Organisation undertakes the management.

Who decides what type of housing is needed?

Each local council will determine its affordable housing needs. The Community Housing Industry Association Victoria strongly encourages councils to defer to Community Housing Organisations on specific housing requirements when negotiating planning outcomes

Do Community Housing Organisations have specific design requirements?

Community Housing Organisations are committed to well-designed and appropriately-sized dwellings relative to household needs.

Individual organisations may have specific requirements – you will need to check with your preferred provider.

Will Community Housing tenants be able to access common areas within a development?

Community Housing tenants are expected to have the same facility access requirements as private residents.

We are very excited that, through our partnership with CHL, we will be able to deliver affordable housing within The Village Alphington – enhancing and building on our vision for a true neighbourhood and community hub.

Guy NelsonManaging Director, Alpha Partners

We have found Haven Home Safe to be a dynamic and professional organisation to work with as they strive to increase the supply of affordable rental housing and to assist with the creation of community for participants who are able to establish themselves in contemporary residential surrounds.

Haven’s collaborative approach, drive and passion to the realisation of both small and large Social Housing projects has been a core enabler for this delivery.

APPLY FOR HOUSING

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

CHIA Vic acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures; and to elders both past and present.